FAQs for Speakers

Q: What major applications are installed on the desktop computer in Room 1A1, the Ewart Angus Centre?

A: The applications listed below are updated more or less annually to the current or near-current version. They were last checked on 30 October, 2025.

Category	Installed Applications
Operating system	MS Windows 11 (64-bit)
Web browsers	Google Chrome(137.0), MS Edge (141.0), Mozilla Firefox (73.0)
Presentation	MS PowerPoint (MS 365; 2059), MS Photos (2025.11080)
PDF reader	Adobe Reader DC (2025.001)
AV player	MS Media Player (2025.11), VLC Media Player (3.0.16)
Word processing	MS Word (MS 365; 2059)
Spreadsheet	MS Excel (MS 365; 2059)
MS = Microsoft

Q: Can I run my presentation from the desktop computer on the podium?

A: Yes — provided you can satisfy the following technical requirements:

One of the applications installed on the podium pc — see the previous question — can be used to run/show your audio-visual materials. If you want to show a video that's on YouTube, you can do so with one of the web browsers.
If you want to show a file that is not available for viewing or downloading from a website, you will need to bring your file on a USB stick, which you will plug in to one of the USB ports on the side of the desktop monitor. You can then drag a copy of your file on to the pc's desktop, from where it can be opened.
Another option is to upload a copy of your presentation file to your DropBox, Google Drive or equivalent account, to serve as a backup in the unlikely event that the copy on your USB stick becomes corrupted or otherwise unavailable. The online file(s) can easily be downloaded to and run from the podium pc.

Q: Can I run my presentation from my own laptop computer?

A: Yes — provided you can satisfy the following technical requirement: You (or we) can connect your laptop to the female HDMI port on the podium at the front of the room, using either a standard 19-pin, Type A HDMI cable (male:male) cable, or an "adaptor" cable (small male:larger female) plus a Type A HDMI cable (male:male). (Those who use an Apple (macOS) device often refer to such adaptors as a "dongle".)

More details (show/hide)

The Type A HDMI cable and adaptor-plus-cable combination, sends your laptop's outgoing audio and visual signals to the pc located under the podium. The pc sends the audio and video signals to a recording app (if enabled) and the video signal to a digital projector at the rear of the room. The projector displays your video signal to the audience via a large wall screen at the front of the room. The pc also sends the audio signal to the room`s speakers.

If you need to connect to the internet in order to download or display something, you can establish a wi-fi connection to the internet for your laptop if you have the necessary login credentials for McMaster University's "Mac-WiFi" network or the multi-university "eduroam" network. If you don't have those credentials we can log you in to the "Mac WiFi" network.

Alternatively, you could download and display the desired resource(s) via the podium pc, which has a permanent internet connection. Past experience suggests that it is often quicker and easier for the presenter to use the podium pc for downloading files. If necessary you can always move the file via USB stick to your laptop if it is not practical to work with or otherwise display the resource via the podium pc.

Q: I'm going to be using my own laptop. Tell me more about that HDMI cable and the HDMI input port on the podium

Image of a standard male connector on a Type A HDMI cable was not found.

Image of a standard female connector on a Type A HDMI cable was not found.

If you have a Type A HDMI cable (male:male) that can connect your laptop to a female Type A HDMI port, then you should certainly bring that cable with you. If you don't have such a cable or if your laptop doesn't have a standard Type A female port for outgoing video content, some of the information provided below be helpful.

The standard Type A HDMI connectors have these dimensions:

Connector	Measurement	Size
female end	inner	14.0 x 4.55 mm
male end	outer	13.9 x 4.45 mm

HAALSA can provide a standard Type A HDMI cable, one with a male terminal at each end.

If your computer`s video-out port is a smaller female HDMI port, such as a "mini DisplayPort" (eg, on Apple devices), you will need to bring a suitable smaller-female-to-larger-male "adaptor", which is a short cable that can plug in to your laptop's "video-out" port and enable the male end on a standard Type A HDMI cable to plug in to the female port at the other end of that adaptor.

HAALSA can provide only one type of HDMI adaptor; specifically one with a male end for an Apple laptop's female mini DisplayPort terminal. We can not provide adaptors for Apple or other brands` laptops with other types or sizes of 'video-out' terminals.

Q: What must a Mac user do to be able to run their presentation file on the Windows pc in the lecture venue?

A: Apps running on Windows pcs normally can't understand files formatted for apps that run on Mac devices, including Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.

An exception is.. (show/hide)

An exception is a file prepared on a Mac device using Microsoft's macOS version of PowerPoint. Powerpoint for Windows, running on a Windows pc, can read and display such a file. However, some aspects of the macOS PowerPoint file, when displayed in PowerPoint for Windows, may not match what the user sees when the file is displayed on their Mac device. These differences can pertain to: fonts, the position and size of objects, and animation. Compatibility problems can usually be minimized by ensuring that the macOS and Windows versions of PowerPoint on the two devices are the latest Microsoft 365 versions of PowerPoint.

The version of PowerPoint installed on the Windows pc in the venue for your talk will be a recent version but not necessarily Microsoft's latest version.

So, if you want to use/display on a Windows pc a file prepared on a Mac device, you will have to convert it on your Mac device to a format that an equivalent app (eg, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, a PDF reader) running on the Windows pc can understand.

It's probably best to prepare your slide show in Apple's Pages, Numbers, or Keynote. Then, after you have achieved a "final" version of your presentation file, you will have to convert that file to a format that the equivalent app on a Windows pc (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) can open and display to your audience.

In general, the steps are as follows:

After you achieve a final version of your presentation file, open that file on your Mac in the app with which you prepared it.
Use that app's "File > Export To" tool to save a version of the file whose format is compatible with an equivalent app running on a Windows pc.

Suppose, for example, that you created your file using Apple's KeyNote. Use Keynote's "File > Export To > PowerPoint" tool to save a copy of your file with the file-name extension "pptx", which is an alias for PowerPoint for Windows's standard file format.

Similarly, if you used Apple's Pages, export your file to the Windows OS version of Microsoft Word, by selecting the file-name extension "docx", which is an alias for Words standard file format. Note, however, that a Pages file can also be exported to a file in "Portable Document Format", with the file-name extension "pdf". Leading web browsers, among other apps running on the Windows platform, can open and display pdf-type files in full-screen (presentation) mode.
Put a copy of your formatted-for-Windows file on a USB stick and bring that stick to the lecture venue. (See also the question titled "I'm bringing ...", below, which explains why you might want to bring two sticks.) HAALSA's Tech Guy will assist you in putting a copy of your reformatted-for-Windows file on the podium pc and will set up the appropriate Windows application for you.

Q: I'm bringing my laptop to the venue. Should I bring my presentation file or image files on one or two USB sticks?

A: You should certainly bring a copy of your presentation file or image files on a USB stick. If you are bringing multiple image files be sure they are either the only files on the stick or are all held in the same folder on the stick In addition ensure that your image files, when sorted by file name in Windows File Explorer (equivalent to Apple Finder), are listed/shown in the order in which you want to display them to your audience. Any other arrangement will invariably result in frustrating (for you and your audience) delays of varying duration as you, first, try to recall the name of the next file you want to display, and, second, scroll up/down a long list of files in one or more folders.

In addition, consider bringing a copy of your required file(s) on two USB sticks—unless you have uploaded a second copy to your DropBox, Google Drive, or equivalent online storage account. Regard the second stick as a backup in the unlikely event that the copy on the first stick (or the stick itself) proves to be unusable. (Yes, just like hard drives in a pc, USB sticks do fail eventually, sometimes at very inconvenient moments.)

Q: What microphones are available for me to use?

A: The room is equipped with a podium mike, a lapel mike, and a hand-held mike. Our experience with the lapel mic is that, by itself, it does not consistently provide a satisfactory audio experience for our audiences.

Consequently, we ask that you present via the podium mike and wear the lapel mike, just in case you move too far from the podium at any point during your presentation.

Alternatively, you may choose to hold the hand-held mike throughout your presentation. This will enable you to roam well beyond the range of the podium mike. Please note, however, that the hand-held mike is not a guaranteed option. The mike's built-in rechargable battery may be empty or inadequately charged on the evening of your presentation because the previous user did not return the mike to its charging station.

Q: Can HAALSA provide a hand-held laser pointer?

A: Yes. Our pointer displays a red dot.

Q: Can HAALSA provide technical assistance before and during my presentation?

A: Yes. A HAALSA member, usually the Webmaster, will assist you in getting set up, either on the podium pc or your laptop.

Q: I'm driving to the McMaster campus: Where should I park my vehicle?

A: We recommend that you park on the McMaster University campus, either on a gated lot or at a metered, on-street location.

For lot locations near the hospital building and vehicle access details see our Campus Parking Details page.

HAALSA will reimburse your cost for parking to a maximum of $8.00. The latter is McMaster's current evening maximum for parking on the main campus, either on-street (where permitted) or on one of the university`s gated lots. (College Street, which runs west, north of the Psychology building, has some metered on-street parking and a gated lot at its western end.) McMaster's parking meters/kiosks accept payment by credit card.

Free off-campus parking may also be found on streets to the east side of the campus but it may be difficult to locate areas where 2-hour (or longer) parking is permitted after 7 pm.

We strongly recommend that you not park in any of the McMaster University Childrens Hospital`s surface or underground lots. Post-presentation you will have to pay (when we last checked) a $23.00 (underground lot) or $28.00 (surface lot) fee when exiting the lot. As stated above, HAALSA will reimburse only $8.00 of that cost.